Kitchen notes · a little help before you start
Easy Leftover Turkey Soup Recipe
Leftover turkey soup is a welcome dinner when there is cooked turkey ready for another outing. Potatoes and vegetables make the bowl hearty, with a little cream rounding out the broth. Sit down while it is hot and enjoy a gentle meal after the bigger feast.
- Prep
- 10 min
- Cook
- 25 min
- Total
- 35 min
- Original yield
- Serves 6
- Ingredients
- 13 listed
Make it part of your week
Recipe categories & planning details
- Meal type
- Main course
- Primary protein
- Turkey
- Cuisine
- American
- Preparation & total time
- Prep: 15 minutes or less · Total: 31–60 minutes
- Dish type
- Soups · Soups & stews
A few quick notes
1. Brown the onion lightly
Saute the chopped onion until lightly browned before adding garlic for its short fragrant cook.
2. Keep the lid slightly open
After bringing the vegetables and broth to a gentle boil, reduce heat and simmer with the lid a little ajar.
3. Turkey joins after the first simmer
Let the vegetables simmer first, then add cooked turkey for the second simmer before cream and seasoning.
Get to know the ingredients
Halved baby potatoes
Halve the baby potatoes before adding them with carrots, celery and liquids, ready for the soup's first simmer.
Cooked turkey meat
Use cooked turkey for this soup, adding more than the starting amount if you want.
Broth choices
Chicken or vegetable broth is included, poured in with the measured water, vegetables and Italian seasoning.
Let’s make it
Choose your servings, then check things off as you go.
Original recipe: Serves 6. Original quantities shown.
Check ingredients as you prepare them. These checks stay on this page.
How to make it
0 of 5 steps completeMake room for Easy Leftover Turkey Soup Recipe
Review ingredients in your pantry before anything is added. Meal plans use your household size; grocery-only additions use the servings selected above.
The last little job
Cream and seasoning last
Stir cream into the simmered turkey and vegetable soup, then check salt and pepper before serving.
A little more help as you go
Regular potatoes are allowed
You can use regular potatoes instead of baby ones, keeping the total weight similar when preparing them for the soup.
Peel and slice carrots
Have the carrots peeled and sliced before they join the celery, potatoes and broth in the pot.
A few questions you might have
Do I cook raw turkey in the broth?
This soup starts with cooked turkey, added after the first vegetable simmer and warmed during the second simmer.
When does Italian seasoning go in?
Add it with the celery, carrots, potatoes, broth and water before bringing the pot to its gentle boil.
Does the cream boil from the beginning?
It is stirred in after both simmering stages, just before the final salt-and-pepper adjustment and serving.
Can I make the soup with more turkey?
Yes. Add more cooked turkey if you have it to use in the soup.
Does the garlic cook with onion the whole time?
Let the onion brown lightly first, then cook the minced garlic briefly until fragrant before adding the vegetables and liquids.
Any more cooking tips?
You don’t need to use baby potatoes… regular ones are fine as long as the weight is similar. I just find them easy. I used 2 cups cooked turkey, but you could definitely add a lot more if you need to! Serves 4-6.
Storage & reheating safety
For cooked, perishable leftovers, refrigerate within 2 hours (1 hour above 90°F), using shallow containers for prompt cooling. Keep the refrigerator at 40°F or below, use refrigerated leftovers within 3–4 days, and reheat hot leftovers to 165°F, checked with a food thermometer. Follow any shorter package limit.
These are general safety limits, not a tested storage or freezing recommendation for this particular dish. USDA leftovers guidance · Safe cooking temperatures
Recipe source: saltandlavender.com. Ingredient names and quantities may be adapted for the pantry.
Preparation notes follow the recipe shown here.
